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J-School Principles Applied to the Digital Marketing World

I’ll be honest — after graduating with a degree in news-editorial journalism, I didn’t exactly know how I was going to fit in at a digital marketing company. However, I wanted to make the jump to a more progressive field and Launch was an excellent place for me to do so. Even though I thought everyone was speaking in tongues for the first few weeks I was here, I caught on and have begun to learn what the digital world is all about. Surprisingly, I’ve realized that a few of the journalism principles I learned at school still hold true at a digital marketing agency.

Accuracy is something that was drilled into my head throughout my schooling and it’s a valuable principle to live by at Launch as well. From making sure the content of a page has the client’s correct information on it to scheduling meetings at the right time, accuracy is something that can make or break a company’s reputation. By delivering accuracy time after time, it’s possible for a company to show just how much they value their clients and the work they’re producing.

Accountability is another principle driving the journalism world that I’ve also applied to the digital marketing realm. However, instead of having the responsibility of being accountable to readers, the employees at Launch have the duty of being accountable to their clients and customers. The value placed on accountability is priceless — and without it, there’s really no reason for someone to continue doing business with you.

Throughout college, I was also taught about the demand for condensation and brevity in journalistic writing. After being approached by my colleagues about helping out with SEO for our various clients, I took the opportunity to try something new while also incorporating a bit of previous knowledge. I was happily surprised to find out that the concept behind creating meta descriptions is very similar to what I was used to when condensing content for the magazines I had previously interned for. This time, however, instead of creating blurbs about the latest spring trends, I was tailoring the descriptions to a specific Launch client and their needs. As someone who loves to mess around with words, the task of writing title tags and meta descriptions is a great fit. Ultimately, I’ve learned that even though digital marketing is a newer field, there are still universal journalism practices that can be applied. Words are important —no matter what field or type of media you’re working with. Thus, journalists or anyone with a passion for words can incorporate their existing skills into the digital marketing world.

Meet Taylor Ellis

Taylor is the Executive Administrative Assistant at Launch Digital Marketing. She recently graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana with a degree in news-editorial journalism. She enjoys spending time with her family and cheering on the Fighting Illini! View all posts by Taylor Ellis →